


The Brothers & The Best Friend

by karaelayne



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 09:49:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22456096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karaelayne/pseuds/karaelayne
Summary: Youngjae and Jinyoung are best friends in college. Youngjae took Jinyoung with him to their country home on his parents' 25th wedding anniversary.
Relationships: Im Jaebum | JB/Park Jinyoung
Comments: 7
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have this story outlined for a very long time for a different OTP, but I never got the chance to write it. This is also my first time to write for GOT7, so please bear with me. Some parts of the story are inspired by real-life events and personal preferences.

"So, hyung, do not be too surprised if there are a lot of people coming in today, okay? Dad and Mom invited almost the whole clan to celebrate their anniversary," Youngjae warned Jinyoung as they were getting inside the Im's residence. It was a two hour drive from Seoul, but Youngjae had just gotten his driver's license recently, so he was excited to drive home using his older brother's car. 

"Yes, you have told me that before, Youngjae. I am mentally prepared to meet the said clan today," Jinyoung answered his best friend. The two were members of the university's glee club since their sophomore year and had remained best friends until today. They got out of the car and took their bags out of the trunk. Jinyoung followed Youngjae inside their house, taking off their shoes and putting them inside a shoe cabinet near the main door. 

"I know, hyung, I am just excited to introduce you to my cousins. I know you gonna love them. Come on, my room's on the second floor." Jinyoung followed Youngjae up the stairs going to his room. Along the hallway were framed pictures of the family. Jinyoung took a closer look of one of Youngjae and his brother's photo. 

"Where is your hyung, Youngjae? Why did he not come along with us today? And you even took his car." The two boys entered Younjae's room, a medium-size one with beige and grey patterned wallpaper, wooden flooring, and a big black closet at the corner. Jinyoung placed his overnight bag on the floor and plopped on Youngjae's bed, groaning a bit when his back cracked. Youngjae joined him after he washed his hands. "Jaebeom hyung will be coming late today or tomorrow morning. I dunno. He said something came up with work, and it is urgent that they finish it as soon as possible." 

"You know what? I have never met your brother in our three years of friendship. I met your cousin Mark a couple of times, but how come we never hang out with your hyung?" Jinyoung laid on his side, looking at the boy beside him.

"I know, right? Well, he was busy with his thesis and internship last year, and during his free time, he just coops up inside his darkroom developing photos. He loves photography." Suddenly, they heard a male voice calling Youngjae and a rush of feet running up the stairs. The two friends stopped talking, wondering whose voice could that be. 

"Im Youngjae! Why did you not tell me you're coming today? Afraid to have your ass beat-Oh! I did not know we have a guest." Getting inside Youngjae's room is Mark Tuan, the Ims' Korean-Chinese cousin, and Youngjae's favourite opponent in video games. He gave a little wave to his cousin's guest. "Hi, Jinyoung! Nice seeing you here." 

Jinyoung sat up on the bed to properly greet Mark. "Hello, Mark hyung! Yeah, Youngjae dragged me here on last minute." Jinyoung laughed when Mark suddenly playfully hit Youngjae's legs and grabbed him to stand up. "What are you doing in here? Go down and announce yourself to the clan. Your mom thought you were coming tomorrow together with Jaebeom." 

The three guys went out of Youngjae's room to meet the family who were currently congregating in the dining room. Youngjae bowed and greeted his family, then he introduced Jinyoung to his parents, aunties, and uncles. Jinyoung bowed and greeted them too, expressing his thanks for being invited to their family's affair. Then Mark came back and dragged Youngjae to the computer room to show him the new game they were reviewing, so Jinyoung offered to help Mrs. Im and the other aunties in food preparation. He told them he is currently studying nutrition and dietetics, so he knew a bit about cooking as it is a part of his subject. Mrs. Im and the aunties clapped with happiness for having additional help in the kitchen. 

"We should have someone like him in the family, what do you think?" An Auntie Kim said to Mrs. Im..

"Definitely! We are a family of big eaters, Jinyoung. You should have seen my husband and children eat. You think I am feeding 10 people in this household." 

The boys hang out at the pool that night after dinner. Yugyeom, a cousin of the Ims, came over with his best friend and one of the neighbourhood kids, Bambam. There was shouting and laughing as Youngjae and Mark teamed up against Yugyeom and Bambam in pool wrestling. Jinyoung sat by the edge of the pool, feet dipped in the water, covering his mouth in laughter when Mark was pushed on his back by a bigger and taller Yugyeom. Later, Mr. Im went out of the house and joined them, bringing a few drinks for the boys. Yugyeom and Bambam cheered the loudest, splashing water on everyone. The elder Im placed the bottles on the wooden garden table and said, "Just one for each of you. We do not want the neighbours to call the police for noisy and drunk kids!" Jinyoung refused to drink - "I get drunk easily" - so the four boys played rock paper scissors to decide who would get the extra bottle. After an intense game, Bambam won, but to his dismay, Mark took the drink away from him because he did not want to deal with Bambam and beer together. He handed it to Jinyoung for "safekeeping" despite Bambam's whines. They clinked their bottles together, then Youngjae started hugging Jinyoung, wet clothes and all, then poured his drink on Jinyoung's head. The others followed suit, all of them ended up being wet and smelled of beer. 

The Im's residence is spacious and relaxing. The black wooden front door is a contrast to the white walls inside the house, and the furniture in neutral tones added to the homey feel. There were a couple of big indoor plants inside the house, and a few pots of succulents decorated the coffee table in the living room. A glass door with a wooden frame and metal handles separated the living room from the dining room. A rectangular dining table and 6 wooden chair with soft seat cushions were placed in the middle, facing a pair of floor windows overlooking at the pool. A small arch doorway lead to the kitchen with grey tiled flooring and uniformed black cabinets. There were not much appliances, just the basics. At the main entrance of the house, a flight of wooden stairs lead to the second storey of the house where Jaebeom and Youngjae's rooms were. The two rooms were at the both sides of the hallway, and in between them was an accent wall with five framed candid photos of the family.

Later that night before they went to sleep - Jinyoung sleeping on Youngjae's bed while the other boy was on his futon on the floor - Jinyoung asked Youngjae who came up with the idea of their house and how it reminded him of those houses in architectural magazines. 

"Our house was not originally like this, hyung. The backyard you see now used to be Mom's vegetable and flower garden. It was big and messy. We did not have a pool, and the kitchen and living room were bigger. We had this renovated last year, and it was Jaebeom hyung who designed this," explained Youngjae. 

"Really? Wow, he must be very good in designing then. I must say I like his style. It has a minimalist vibe to it." 

"Jaebeom hyung designed this when he was in college. This was actually part of his thesis during his final year. He said that since we are both in Seoul now, we do not need to have big rooms that are empty most of the time. Mom will be tired cleaning rooms that are seldom used. He showed his design to our parents, and Dad liked it immediately. So, he downsized the house and put our rooms on the second floor, but Mom and Dad's room remained on the ground floor. Hyung said they are getting older, and it is not easy for them to climb stairs. Then he reduced the size of the living room and the kitchen. So we had a bigger backyard afterward, and we put a pool where Mom's vegetables used to be." 

"This is a really nice and relaxing, like you do not want to go back to the city once you get here. Which reminds me, Jackson is moving out of our apartment before the year ends."

"Oh, Jackson hyung is moving out? Why?"

Jinyoung rolled to lie on his stomach, facing Youngjae on the floor. "Well, he got a job offer in Hong Kong, and he would probably be flying back and forth Hong Kong to Korea, but most of the time he will be based in Hong Kong, so no need for him to get a space here. Anyway, I was thinking of having the apartment remodeled since I will be living alone. It is sad, we have been housemates for three years now, but at the same time, I am excited of living by myself. Maybe your brother can recommend to me some designers that he knows. I am not knowledgeable about this, you know." 

"Or we could ask Jaebeom hyung if he could do it for you."

"Youngjae, I do not have a big budget for that. I could not probably afford your brother's professional fee. I want to tear down Jackson's room when he leaves and turn it into a proper kitchen for me. Half of this will be paid by my sisters as their graduation gift for me, but the half I will pay for it. I do not even have a job yet," Jinyoung sighed. 

"Let's see what we can do, hyung. Can we sleep now? Yugyeom and Bambam drained my energy tonight, hahaha! And I drove for two hours today!" Youngjae buried himself under his thick blanket. "Turn off the night lamp, hyung. Please!" 

"Aish, this brat! Good night, Youngjae." Jinyoung turned off the bedside lamp. He pulled the blanket up to his neck and closed his eyes, Youngjae's soft snores lulling him to sleep. 

***

The anniversary celebration started early when the parents were up and about before six in the morning to prepare. Mrs. Im’s sister and sister-in-law were in command in the kitchen, while the men were at the dining table eating some toast and drinking coffee. Jinyoung woke up to the sound of Youngjae's boisterous laughter from downstairs. He immediately got up from bed, folded the blankets and went to the bathroom to clean himself up and brush his teeth. He wore his blue Adidas hoodie over his thin shirt, put up the hood to hide his crazy bed hair and went down to meet the rest of the family. 

"Jinyoung hyung!" Youngjae called him when he entered the dining room. Jinyoung bowed politely as he shyly greeted them and took a seat beside Youngjae. In front of him was a young man with a half pony, ear and nose piercings, and a printed bomber jacket. Youngjae introduced him as his older brother. 

"Jaebeom hyung, this is my best friend, Jinyoung hyung. You have heard about him from me before, right? We are in the glee club together. Jinyoung hyung, that is the firstborn of this family. He looks a lot like mom, but he has dad's personality. His name is Im Jaebeom." He laughed aloud after his introductions, very Youngjae-like. 

The two men exchanged handshakes, and they started eating their simple breakfast. Jinyoung observed the family while they were eating. Indeed, Jaebeom looked a lot like Mrs. Im, while Youngjae took after their father - kind, smiley face whereas Jaebeom had sharp features. They were kind enough to include Jinyoung in their family conversation, even though Jaebeom was most of the time being quiet and focused on his food, laughing a bit here and there at their dad's stories. When he was done eating, he excused himself, telling them that he had pulled an all-nighter, had only 3 hours of sleep and that he needed a couple of hours of rest to function properly again. 

"I'll see you guys later. Nice meeting you, Jinyoung, enjoy your stay here and make yourself at home. Youngjae, not too loud, please. I have not soundproofed my room yet, and I really really need to sleep." Jaebeom then went up to his room while the continued eating their breakfast. 

By afternoon, some relatives and friends started arriving, so it started to get busy at the Im's residence. Mark, Yugeom, and Bambam came with their parents, and Jinyoung stayed with them while Youngjae was busy welcoming the visitors. He saw Jaebeom talking with probably some of their older cousins at the dining hall. He was about to join Yugyeom and Bambam who were playing board games when he got startled by a deep voice coming from someone beside him. 

Youngjae laughed at his astonished expression. "Uncle, this is my best friend, Park Jinyoung. We go to the same university." 

Jinyoung bowed courteously at the older man before him before accepting his offered hand. "Nice meeting you, sir, I am Park Jinyoung." 

"So, best friends only huh?" Said uncle gave the two friends a questioning look. Youngjae let out his loud laugh before saying, "Yes, just best friends. He is not my type, Uncle," giving his friend a funny face afterward. 

"Oops, my bad. Sorry about that, Jinyoung, I thought we will be seeing your pretty face in the family reunions in the future." Jinyoung felt his face flushed, murmuring a number of nos under his breath. Being a good sport that he was, he responded, "But if the family will invite me, sir, I will definitely come." 

The uncle chortled at his reply and gave him a small pat on the back. "A smart young man you are. Well, enjoy your stay here. I will leave you kids alone now." The two friends bowed as the uncle left them to their own. 

The night of eating, drinking, and celebrating went by so quickly that Youngjae and Jinyoung found themselves packing up their stuff and getting reading for a long drive back to Seoul early morning the next day. Breakfast awaited them when they went down to the dining room, prepared by Mrs. Im, along with some sandwiches they could eat along the way and a couple of containers with various kinds of food from last night. 

"I hope you enjoyed your short stay here with us, Jinyoung," Mr. Im said, while helping himself with a cup of coffee. "It is too bad we did not get to sit down and talk a lot." 

"I did have a good time here, sir, everyone was nice to me," Jinyoung replied. "I really had fun, and it is nice meeting you." 

"Why don't you just go back tomorrow? You could stay for another day here if you want," Mrs. Im suggested. 

"I have classes at 8 tomorrow, Mom, I cannot be too tired," said Youngjae. "Anyway, is not Jaebeom hyung coming with us today?" 

"No, he is staying for one more day. He said they were given an extra day off to compensate for the extra hours they worked on last week." Mrs. Im looked at Jinyoung. "My eldest son, he is a workaholic one. If he puts his mind into it, he will not stop until he gets the results he wants. He is like his father here." She then glanced at her husband with so much pride in her eyes.

"I have a paper due tomorrow, too," Jinyoung added, 'I almost finished with it but I have to go through it again." He then addressed the couple in front of him, "Thank you for having me here, I hope this will not be the last time." 

'Definitely not the last time, Jinyoung. You can come here anytime you are free. Our sons' friends are always welcome here." Jinyoung nodded and smiled gratefully at his friend's parents. 

The couple walked the boys to the front gate where Jaebeom’s car was parked, reminding them to drive carefully and to inform them when they had gotten to Seoul safely. The best friends thanked them one last time before leaving the place with happy hearts.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for leaving kudos! I did not really expect that. ♥ I am kinda projecting my real-life self here because my characters are getting wordy, hahaha!

Youngjae amusingly watched Jinyoung as the latter moved around the cramped kitchen in his apartment, experimenting some dish. He wondered what his best friend was making this time, and if he, the appointed food taster, could even ingest it. The last time Jinyoung made food for one of his nutrition subjects, it was a disaster. Youngjae told him that elderly patients would just throw this food away. It tasted like cardboard if Youngjae remembered it correctly. Jinyoung justified that it was because they should not have seasoning or salt, and Youngjae argued that nutritionists should make good food taste delicious, not like a piece of paper. They ended up calling for pizza delivery that day. 

"Here, try this." Jinyoung handed him a fork with a smoking green vegetable at the end. Youngjae inspected what the weird thing was and let out a deep breath when he learned that it was just broccoli. He blew it first before taking a bite while Jinyoung impatiently waited for his feedback. 

"Hmmmm! This tastes like real food now, hyung," Youngjae chuckled as he was swatted by Jinyoung on the arm. "Start cooking like this, and you will become a popular dietician in the future. No deaths from eating your food." Jinyoung just rolled his eyes and went back to his little stove, stirring up the new dish in the pan before turning the fire off. "Continue being an asshole, Youngjae, you are not getting some of the dessert I made" 

The younger boy laughed at his friend's empty threat. "I know you cannot res- Oh! Jaebeom hyung is calling. Just a minute." Youngjae picked up his brother's call after three rings.

"Youngjae-ah, where are you?" 

"Hyung, I am at Jinyoung hyung's place. I am eating dinner here tonight, so I guess you will buy your own food or maybe call for delivery?" Youngjae heard his brother sighed on the other hand. "I am sorry for the late advice, hyung, I did not know I will be staying here for dinner." He looked up to see Jinyoung mouthing something at him. 

"Oh, Jinyoung hyung said you can come over and eat with us tonight." Jinyoung nodded at Youngjae, mouthing that they had enough food for three of them, holding up three fingers for emphasis. "We have enough food for the three of us, and I bought some chicken, too, so it is not like we do not have a share." 

"Are you sure? Am I not intruding or something?" 

"No, no, no, no! Hyung, just come over here right now. I am already hungry!." 

"I could buy some dessert on my way there. What do you guys want?"

"No, hyung, no need. Just get your flat ass over here!" 

"Youngjae, language." Youngjae chuckled at his brother's scolding, then told him he would text the address to Jinyoung's apartment. And to make himself safe from his brother later, he added, "Be careful in driving, hyung!" 

Jaebeom arrived 30 minutes later with a bottle of red wine for Jinyoung, thanking him again for the untimely invitation. The three of them started eating, and just into the first bite, Jaebeom was all praises for Jinyoung's cooking. "What is this? You do not usually see this in restaurants or in take-outs." He tightened his half-pony before getting a second helping of the food. 

"I dunno what this is called, but this is supposed to be hospital food for children." Jaebeom looked at him questioningly. "I am studying nutrition and dietician, so part of our subject is making, uh, customized food for the patients' needs. So, this one is for a special case, that is why you do not see them in restaurants, Jaebeom-ssi." 

"But this is actually very good, huh? I guess I have a palate of a kid," Jaebeom replied before scooping up another spoonful. 

"No, hyung, you just have a big appetite," teased Youngjae. 

"It is not a bad thing to have a big appetite, as long as you eat nutritious food and exercise regularly. I know some people who consume 3000 to 4000 calories of food every day but do not get fat," Jinyoung said. 

"Youngjae hates exercising," Jaebeom smirked at his brother. 

"Oh, I know that. He does not reply to my messages when I invite him to go for a run," Jinyoung added. 

"You know, I regreted having the two of you here. You are ganging up on me!" Youngjae whined The two older boys laughed at his misery. 

The Im siblings cleared out the table after eating their meal, and Jinyoung prepared to take out his homemade dessert from the fridge. "It is a mango graham cake. I found the recipe online and it looked easy to make, so I tried it. Jackson likes this so much I always make sure it is available when he is home." Jinyoung carefully made square slices of the cake and gave each brother a big slice first before getting one for himself. 

"Oh my god, this is so good, hyung! I know I have tried this so many times already, but I tell you, I could eat this every day!" Youngjae exclaimed before digging in some more. 

"This one right here is the bomb, Jinyoung-ssi." Jaebeom could not help himself from eating some more. "You should teach Mom how to make this. This is crazy good!" 

Jinyoung smiled at their reactions. "Thank you, I never expected you to like it so much. Jackson is crazy about this, but well, he is easy to please with sweet food." 

"Who is Jackson?" Jaebeom asked, helping himself to a second slice of the dessert. 

"Jackson is my housemate. We lived together since sophomore year, but he had an internship in Hong Kong - that's where he is from - so he stays there most of the time since the beginning of this year. Before the year ends, probably 3 months from now, I guess, he will move out since the company hired him for a position after graduation. He said he will be moving back and forth between Hong Kong and South Korea, but most of the time, he will be in Hong Kong. So, I will be living alone."

Youngjae suddenly turned towards his brother. "Which reminds me, Jaebeom hyung, can you recommend someone to help Jinyoung hyung remodel this house? Someone who does not cost much." 

"Ah, yes, Jaebeom-ssi, I plan to make a few changes here after Jackson moves, but I do not have much money for a total makeover. My older sisters will shoulder half of the expenses as their graduation gift for me, but the rest is on me, and I only have this much," Jinyoung explained.

"Why look for someone else when I could do this for free? I am an architect if my brother has not mentioned it to you. You just have to feed me with this dessert during the renovation period." Jaebeom grinned at Jinyoung.

Jinyoung laughed at Jaebeom's crazy suggestion. "No, I do not think it is proper, Jaebeom-ssi, I will pay you. I have a budget, so I guess you can just work around that, but I am willing to give some desserts to make up for the other expenses." 

"Okay, okay, I will give you a good price then, and maybe a discount on my professional fee, but I am taking that dessert offer seriously. So, what do you have in mind?" Jaebeom put down his fork on the empty plate and turned his attention to the man in front of him.

"Once Youngjae is done eating, I will show you around. I already have something in mind, but I would love to know your thoughts about it." 

Later, Jinyoung showed the two brothers around the house - the small living room with a three-seater couch and an outdated brown coffee table, Jackson's room, the extra room where they placed the stuff they barely or did not use, the guest restroom.

"So, that's all about it, and I think this will be a good size for me when I start living alone. I want to convert Jackson's room into something else, and the extra room into a guest room for my parents and sisters to use when they come over. The guest restroom is unnecessary, I think, it just takes some room which could be used for something else or just simply spaces. I do not like much stuff in the house anyway. Oh, I need to upgrade my kitchen, that's all. I need it for my job in the future." 

"It's a good thing you already know what you want for your house, Jinyoung. Makes things easier for me," Jaebeom said.

"Thanks to Pinterest, Jaebeom-ssi," Jinyoung replied with a small laugh. They went back to their seats at the dining table. "Uhm, so this is not really urgent, I just want to plan ahead, so I hope this does not get in the way of your job." 

"Jinyoung-ssi, you are a paying client, so this is going to be part of my projects, though this is a personal one. Don't worry, I am fairly new in my job, so I do not have much major works at hand yet, so this is fine. By the way, here's my business card in case you need to contact me." Jaebeom took something out of his wallet and handed him an elegant looking card, gold letters written over a black background with minimal design. 

Jinyoung and Youngjae inspected the card, the younger boy clearly impressed. "Well, I do not have a business card, but I have a Post-It and a fancy pen somewhere around here, so I hope it will do, Mr. Im." Jinyoung scribbled his name on the sticky pad and handed it over to the architect. It was not before long that the Im brothers bid Jinyoung good night and thanked him for a wonderful dinner. 

  
  


*******

Things got busy for Youngjae and Jinyoung. The never-ending schoolwork and final term papers to submit left them no time to meet and spend time with each other. Jackson arrived in Seoul to get some of his stuff, and Jinyoung spent as much time as he could with his housemate. He was going to miss Jackson a lot when he permanently moved to Hong Kong. Separation anxiety was real for him when he sent Jackson to the airport Saturday night after spending three days together. Jackson told him not to be so sad; he would still come back for graduation, and they would still see each other. Jinyoung was sad that they were living apart from there on, but at the same time, he was excited to be on his own where he was free to do what he wanted. Guess this is what adulting is all about.

It was one of those rare nights where he had nothing to do - school hell month was over, finally! - that Jinyoung found himself in a corner of a coffee shop just outside the campus, reading his latest Terry Goodkind paperback purchase. He was so engrossed in his reading that he lost track of time and only get to check his phone when it vibrated for an incoming message. 

** _Im Jaebeom_ ** _ : Good evening, Jinyoung-ssi. How are you? I hope I am not disturbing you. _

** _Park Jinyoung_ ** _ : Good evening, too, Jaebeom-ssi. No, you are not disturbing me at all. Anything may I help you with? _

** _Im Jaebeom_ ** _ : That's great. I actually finished the draft for your house renovation, and I wanted to show it to you first before I go into the details. You might probably want to go through it and see if there are any revisions that you might want to add. _

** _Park Jinyoung_ ** _ : Oh, that's wonderful! I am excited to see it. How do I check it? Are you going to email it to me or something? I am out of the house right now, so I cannot check it right away. _

** _Im Jaebeom_ ** _ : Are you somewhere near the campus vicinity? I could meet up with you in a few minutes after I clock out from work. I rather explain this to you in person than on the phone. _

** _Park Jinyoung_ ** _ : Yeah, I am at a rustic coffee shop called The Little Bird perpendicular to the campus' front gate. _

** _Im Jaebeom_ ** _ : Okay, I think I know the place. See you in a few! _

  
  


A few minutes later, Jinyoung was startled when someone took a seat in front of him in his little corner. He looked up to see Im Jaebeom beaming at him with his eye smile and straight white teeth. He had his hair down today, parted at the middle, right side tucked behind his ear revealing a loop earring, and he was wearing black long sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a pair of black chinos, and white leather sneakers. He looked so...

"Hi! Uhm, office dress code is smart casual, so this," Jaebeom explained himself. 

"Oh! I am sorry, I did not mean to stare, Jaebeom-ssi. I just did not recognize you and thought you were someone else." Jinyoung felt embarrassed being caught staring at the man before him. He self-consciously fixed his reading glasses that slowly fell on the tip of his nose.

"No offence taken. Anyway, here is the draft I made for your apartment. This is just based on my memory, so I expect a lot of revisions for this." Jaebeom took out the sketches from a manila envelope and showed it to Jinyoung. He carefully inspected the drawings, trying to figure out what they were and how they would probably look like once done. The younger of the two was excited that he blurted out that he could not wait for Jackson to move out so they could start the works. Jaebeom laughed at him and called him a meanie housemate. Meanwhile, Jinyoung continued checking out the rough details when he came to a part which he could not understand. 

"Oh, that." Jaebeom moved his chair closer and leaned over to look at the sketch. "Honestly, I am not really sure what is in this part of the house, but I think an accent wall will be perfect in this spot. I guess I need to take pictures of your house so I can be specific in the details next time." 

"No problem. You can come over tomorrow if you want. I mean, if you are free. 9:00 AM is the best time because I usually have my weekend morning run at 6."

"Health-conscious, huh?" 

"I am not athletic, Jaebeom-ssi, I suck at sports, and running is the only thing I can do to help me maintain my weight." Jinyoung put the papers back inside the manila folder.

"Where do you usually run?" Jaebeom was getting inquisitive.

"There is a park and children's playground three blocks from my place. One round is about 1.2 kilometres, so I usually run 6 laps. The place has a lot of trees so it quite shady, and there are a few food stores and coffee shops around where I sometimes eat my breakfast before going home." 

"Okay, I will meet you there. We can go to your house afterwards, so I can take some pictures. It has been some time since I went outside for a good run, too, you know." Jaebeom grinned at him. 

"What? Are you sure? Is it not too early for you?" Jinyoung looked back at him with disbelief in his eyes. 

"Nah, I am not Youngjae. Waking him up before 9 in the morning is a challenge. I wonder how he survived his morning classes all these years." They both laughed at Youngjae's expense. 

"Anyway, let's go have dinner, Jinyoung-ssi. I have not eaten yet, and my co-worker was raving about this new diner near the Han River. I have to try it myself to see if it lives up to the hype." Jaebeom stood up and gathered his stuff on the table, then waiting at Jinyoung to follow him. 

"Uhm, I would just head home, Jaebeom-ssi." 

"No, come on. I'll drive you home, but you have to eat with me first. Don't worry, this is part of my professional service." 

"But-"

"Please, Jinyoung-ssi. I am craving for burgers right now, and it would be lonely to eat alone." Jaebeom pleaded.

"Alrighty, but send me the bill, okay?" Jinyoung finally agreed, both knew that the bill thing was just a facade.

"Yes, sir!" 

The diner was a good 20-minute drive away from the coffee shop. The place was quite crowded, well, it was a Friday night, but thankfully they found a vacant table outside the restaurant. Jinyoung read his paperback while Jaebeom went to order their food. The ambience of this place is good, with the cool evening breeze blowing through his hair and the buzz of people talking and laughing. Maybe he could take his sisters here when they came to visit him. 

"So, have they met Shota yet?" Jaebeom came back with their food. 

"Huh?" Jinyoung looked up to him in confusion. 

'That book you are reading." Jaebeom gestured to the book Jinyoung was holding. "Richard and Khalan were going to see the witch named Shota, right?" 

Jinyoung's eyes grew big in surprise. "Oh my god, do you know about this?" 

"I have the complete series of The Sword of Truth back home. I started reading them 3 years ago." Jaebeom placed Jinyoung’s food in front of him and took his seat opposite the younger one. 

"Oh my god, really? Youngjae never mentioned it to me. How could he not when he has seen me reading this for a long time now?"

"Because he never cared about books. He and Mark are crazy about their video games." 

"That's right. Sometimes I just listen to him talk about his games, but I have only a wee idea of what it is really all about. I am bad at them." They continued talking about their favourite books, the other series and genres that they read, their favourite authors which delighted Jinyoung because he shared a lot of common things with Jaebeom. Finally, he had someone to talk with about his interests. Well, he shared them with Youngjae, and though they were best friends, they did not have much in common. They just kind of complement each other, like they both liked singing but liked different genres. 

An hour and a half later, Jaebeom offered to drive Jinyoung home, as promised, also reminding him about their morning run the next day. 'Don't oversleep, okay? I will ring you nonstop until you wake up. Don't be like my brother, please." 

"Okay, I promise." Jinyoung took off his seat belt and turned to face Jaebeom. "Thank you for the dinner, Jaebeom-ssi, and I know you intentionally left the receipt back there in the diner." 

"Hyung," Jaebeom replied. 

"Huh?" asked Jinyoung, clearly confused. 

Jaebeom tucked his hair behind his ear and smiled at Jinyoung before replying. "Call me hyung. You slept in our house, you ate my mother's food, you read the best stuff, so call me Jaebeom hyung. It is starting to get so uncomfortable being addressed formally by your brother's best friend." 

"If you say so, Jaebeom hyung," Jinyoung replied, and they both laughed softly at that kinda awkward atmosphere. "I'll get going now." Jinyoung got out of the car and peered into the half-opened window. "See you tomorrow. Drive safely, hyung!" 

"Good night, Jinyoung!" Jaebeom gave him a hand salute before driving away. Jinyoung stayed on the sidewalk watching the car getting smaller and smaller until he could not see it anymore. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday! Here is another update! ♥

Jinyoung woke up with a start when he heard his alarm went off. His hand went under his pillow, feeling for his phone around. With only one eye barely open, he tried to turn off the annoying sound of the alarm when it suddenly stopped. He went back to sleep when that annoying sound went off again. Struggling to work his fingers on the phone, he was shocked when he heard a man's voice calling his name. His eyes opened in surprise to see Jaebeom's name on the screen. 

"Jinyoung? Jinyoung? Are you there? Are you even awake?" asked Jaebeom followed by a loud chuckle, obviously knowing that the other person was barely awake. "Aigoo, I thought we are running at 6. It's 5:50 now." 

"Sshtill shleeepee," Jinyoung whined in his soft but raspy voice. 

"Come again? I do not understand you, Jinyoung-ah." 

Jinyoung slowly sat up and stretched his arms before putting Jaebeom on loud speaking. “I said I was still sleepy, hyung.” His morning voice was soft yet raspy from sleep. “But I am awake now.”

“Do you want to sleep some more? I am sorry if I made you stay late last night.”

“Nah, hyung, I will just wash my face and brush my teeth, then I am ready to go.” He went up from his bed, wriggled his feet inside his bedroom slippers. “I will see you later, hyung!” 

“Okay, see you too, Jinyoung. I will try my luck if I can get Youngjae to wake up and join us.”

“Ohhh, you need more than luck to do that. He is quite a challenge.” 

“I’ll see what I can do. Okay, do your thing and I will see you later.”

Jinyoung sleepily totted his way to the bathroom; he washed his face and brushed his teeth, then he put on his blue hoodie and changed into his track pants. He took a couple of bills from his wallet and put inside his running belt with his phone and house key. Then he grabbed his wireless earphones on his night table, strapped on his Garmin and went out of his house. 

He was almost one block away from the park when he heard honking behind him. He turned around to see a familiar car following him, driving at a very slow speed, and when it was right beside him, the window rolled down. Jaebeom was at the driver's seat, smiling widely at him. 

"Jinyoung-ah, hop in!" There was a smooth jazz song playing inside the car. 

Jinyoung shook his head. "It's okay, hyung, there is a block left for me to walk. Plus this is already a warm-up." 

"Okay, wanna race instead? Winner will buy breakfast." 

"What are you talking about, hyung?" 

"See you!" Before Jinyoung could fully understand what was going on, Jaebeom already speeded up towards the park. He then hastened his steps, and he arrived at the park, seeing Jaebeom tying his hair up into a half pony, the window of his car served as a mirror. He then turned around seeing Jinyoung approaching. 

"Well, well, well." He leaned against the car door, arms folding on his chest. "You lost the race, so I guess I will be buying us breakfast later, huh?" 

"What are you talking about? I did not even know we were racing." Jinyoung pouted. "One minute you were asking me to get into the car, and the next you were already speeding up here. My brain barely had time to process you!"

Jaebeom laughed softly at Jinyoung's whining. "Okay, so what do we now? This is my first time to run outdoors." 

"Really?" 

"Really. I run on a treadmill though." 

"Oh, hyung, treadmill bores me. I like it out here where you can see other people running and playing, and there is a change of scenery, and there are trees and the cool fresh breeze hitting your face when you speed up and…" Jinyoung looked into Jaebeom's soft brown eyes. "I love it here. This is my happy place." 

"I can see that, the way you just go on and on and on and on about it, hahaha! So, let's get started." 

"Okay, but first we need to warm up, hyung, because we do not want to have cramps or side stitches." 

Jinyoung showed Jaebeom a few warm-up exercises, then after he pointed to him the track he usually took. Jaebeom wanted to run along with him, but he was no experienced runner like Jinyoung so he ended up after three laps. He sat on the low bleachers, stretching his legs forward while cooling himself down. He cheered for Jinyoung every time he sped by, and the younger one, already on his runner's high, just laughed and squealed before he ended up with 7 laps. He dropped himself beside Jaebeom, a big smile decorating his face, cheeks flushed and hair wet with sweat. Jaebeom handed him his water bottle and watched him as he took big gulps of water and pour the last drops on his head. He rested his back against the upper bleacher, trying to catch his breath. 

"Are you satisfied with your run? Are you happy now?" Jaebeom asked. 

"Very happy. I even broke my personal best in distance." Jinyoung showed Jaebeom his watch. "I got 15 kilometres now, woohoo!" 

"Congratulations! Well, you deserve a good meal to celebrate your achievement." Jaebeom patted his back. "Come on, I am hungry." 

They walked to the middle of the park where various food and coffee shops were. They bought large cups of coffee, big servings of rice with fried eggs and sausages, and some sliced fruits. Jaebeom wanted to dine al fresco so they seated themselves at the restaurant patio. 

"It's only 7:30, but it feels like I am awake for hours already," Jaebeom said before scooping a big spoonful of rice into his mouth. 

"I know, hyung, it happens to me, too. It means you are more relaxed and energized. That is why when I have tons of schoolwork to tackle with, I usually go for a run early mornings. Especially nowadays." 

"That's a good tip. I'll try to follow that."

Jinyoung hummed in response. They continued eating in silence, and when they were done eating, Jaebeom asked about the cats lazing at the park's garden landscape. Jinyoung told him that those were stray cats, and they were kinda adopted by the park's maintenance personnel and the restaurants fed them. These kitties kept the park mice-free. 

"I want to have a pet, a cat or a dog, but Youngjae is allergic to them, so it is out of the option." 

"Awwww, that's sad. Maybe you should get something else. A goldfish or a turtle," Jinyoung replied in a serious tone. 

"A goldf-!" Jaebeom turned his attention to the boy in front of him, and said boy was scrunching his face to hold back his laughter. "Are you kidding me? That's a baby pet!" Jinyoung let out a burst of loud laughter at Jaebeom's offended expression. His laughter was so contagious Jaebeom found himself laughing along. 

Jinyoung wiped the tears from his eyes, his shoulders still racking at the small burst of laughter. "I am sorry, hyung, but just the thought of you taking care of a goldfish is so funny." 

"Yah, Park Jinyoung," Jaebeom chided but no bite, "I am really going to buy one and named it after you. How do you like that, huh?" 

Jinyoung once again doubled up with laughter, making Jaebeom laughed again at his expense. After they both calmed down, Jinyoung led Jaebeom to where the cats at and watched him as he cooed at the cute creatures. One by one, the kitties started to approach them, and Jaebeom patted them softly on their heads. One cat, a pure white one with blue and green eyes and a clipped eat, playfully clawed at Jaebeom that the man had no choice but lay on the grass and let the cat walked over him. He chuckled when the other kitties followed suit, and he squirmed around as the little paws tickled him. It was such an adorable sight that Jinyoung took a few photos of him and the kitties. 

"Okay, babies, I want to play some more with you, but Jinyoungie here is waiting for me to do some work," Jaebeom told the cats, slowly sitting up and gently putting them on the ground, "I will come back, okay?" The cats meowed loudly, probably hating that their playtime was over. "I know, I know," Jaebeom replied, "I promise to come back, and I will bring you treats, is that fine with you guys?" Jinyoung giggled at the cats meowing at Jaebeom, as if they really understood each other. 

Jaebeom reached up for Jinyoung, and the latter took his hand and helped him on his feet. The three stripes of Jaebeom's black jogger pants were almost covered with dried grass, and Jinyoung helped him brush off the leaves and the grass sticking to his clothes. Jaebeom waved goodbye to his new furry friends, then they walked to where his car was parked. 

As soon they settled inside the car, seat belts fastened, Jinyoung asked Jaebeom what songs he listened to while driving. "I have a short fuse when driving, Jinyoung," he replied, "especially during rush hour. So, to save myself from road rage," he chuckled before he continued, "I play slow songs. Pop jazz, those coffee shop kind of songs." 

"Oh, that's interesting." He looked at Jaebeom. "May I use your car stereo?" 

"Sure, go ahead. I am sure you know how this works since you rode this with Youngjae." 

"Yes, I do. Thank you, hyung!" Jinyoung connected his phone to the car's Bluetooth and scrolled through his playlist, looking for one particular song. 

"Is that Zico and IU? Soulmate?" Jaebeom glanced at him questioningly. 

"Yeah, this was playing at the coffee shop where we met. I liked it immediately, so I downloaded it." Jinyoung smiled at him. "You like?" 

"Absolutely! It was on my repeat a few weeks back." Jaebeom started to sing along with the music, and Jinyoung joined him thereafter. He played some other songs that they could belt along with until they reached the block where Jinyoung's house was. 

  
  


*******

  
  


Jaebeom opened the door of his and Youngjae's apartment and placed his trainers inside the shoe cabinet. He made his way to his room, but not before he made a detour to his brother's room. He slowly opened the door and peeked inside, seeing Youngjae still buried under his thick blanket. He closed the door gently and went inside his own to take a shower and a change of clothes. 

He was cooking instant noodles in their kitchen when Youngjae came stumbling in, sleep still evident in his eyes. He clumsily took a seat while sleepily watching his brother. 

"You're awake now, huh? You want some noodles?" Jaebeom asked him. 

"Yeah, hyung, thank you. Can you please make me some coffee too? I am still too sleepy and tired to function." Youngjae placed his arms on the table and rested his head on them. 

"Oh, making me your nanny now, Youngjae-ah? If I did not love you, I would not do these things for you." He took an additional packet of noodles from their kitchen cabinet and emptied the contents in a boiling pot of water. He turned around and gave a fond smile to his younger brother. "It's okay, Youngjae-ah, I can totally relate. I have been through that during my last two years in college Mom thought I was going insane." They both shared a peal of short laughter. 

"Why are you up so early on a weekend, hyung?" 

"Huh? What do you mean?" Jaebeom placed a cork hot pot stand on the table, then took two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks from a drawer. He gave them to Youngjae and helped himself for some hot soup.

"You awake before 11:00 AM, and it's a weekend." Youngjae slurped the soup from how bowl then got a second serving. 

"No one else thinks 11 in the morning is early except you, sleepyhead!" 

"I told you I was so busy and tired this week, hyung. Allow me some excuse." 

"Alright, alright. Finish everything. I will go get coffee." 

"By the way, hyung, three weeks from now, I will be out of town. Our class has this, uhm, sort of a week-long internship. We are assigned to this department where we will work on recovering athletes." Youngjae accepted the hot cup of coffee Jaebeom offered. 

"Is that so? That's good. I can have some peace and quiet in this house even for just a week." He paid no attention to Youngjae's whines while downing the last of his coffee. He placed the empty mug on the table and stood up. "You clean this up, I am going to my room now."

Jaebeom immediately lay down on his bed as soon as he entered his room, and he checked his phone. He studied the photos he took at Jinyoung’s house a few hours ago, his mind already conceiving ideas of what to revise and add and take off from his first draft. From what he had seen, Jinyoung just seemed to like the basic stuff. Neutral colours, minimal decoration, stuff like that. (“It was just Jackson who messes everything up and tried to justify it as art!”) Next, there were emails from work (which he could check tomorrow when he came to the office), SNS notifications, and a Kakao message from Park Jinyoung. He rolled on his stomach as he excitedly opened the message. 

> ** _Park Jinyoung _ ** _ : [Attachment: [cats1.jpg](https://imgur.com/Dhlif1l) [cats2.jpg](https://imgur.com/XoreOy0) [cats3.jpg](https://imgur.com/jjj2utL) [cats4.jpg](https://imgur.com/BElDLFV) [cats5.jpg](https://imgur.com/aMbHTod)]_
> 
> ** _Park Jinyoung_ ** _ : So so cute! ^^ _

Jaebeom checked the photos, and it was him lying on the ground, in various positions and expressions, with the cats from the park. He hurriedly saved the photos in his phone and replied back to Jinyoung.

> ** _Im Jaebeom_ ** _ : Taking photos of people without their knowledge is bad, you know that? _
> 
> ** _Park Jinyoung_ ** _ : Oooops, sorry hyung. But I could not resist! _
> 
> ** _Im Jaebum_ ** _ : Nah, I am just teasing you. ^^ _
> 
> ** _Im Jaebeom _ ** _ : You have an eye for photography huh? You managed to make me look good here. _
> 
> **_Park Jinyoung_ ** _ : But hyung is already good-looking, and you looked adorable playing with those kittens. You really must want one so badly. _

Jaebeom grinned widely at being called good-looking and adorable. Of course, there were guys and gals who were crushing on him in the past (and probably in the present), but it felt different coming from Jinyoung. His heart cooed at that. 

> ** _Park Jinyoung_ ** _ : Thank you for acknowledging my skills, hyumg, but I swear I am not that good. I could not even take decent selfies of myself. I am trying though, still learning. _
> 
> ** _Im Jaebeom_ ** _ : Practice makes perfect, they say. And every master was once a beginner, so just keep doing it. I could give you some tips if you really want to learn. _
> 
> ** _Park Jinyoung_ ** _ : Really, hyung? I would love that! _
> 
> ** _Im Jaebeom_ ** _ : Yeah, I would make a special lesson just for you. Say, do you have any schedule three weeks from now? _
> 
> ** _Park Jinyoung_ ** _ : Lemme see my schedule. _
> 
> ** _Park Jinyoung_ ** _ : Next week is very hectic, but that’s the last for this semester. The third week is actually my school break. _
> 
> ** _Im Jaebeom_ ** _ : Okay. save a date for me. _
> 
> ** _Im Jaebeom_ ** _ : For photography. ^^ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are real-life references in this chapter. So this is the [place](https://imgur.com/f2GfID0) where I run, it is in the middle of a business district. But, it has a lot of trees surrounding the place, so it is not hot. There are even [rainbow trees](https://imgur.com/yGSzxCj)! The park is shaped like a triangle because of the intersection of the streets, and one round of the park is about 1.2 kilometres. On the side is [a row of restaurants and coffee shops](https://imgur.com/9ao824h), so it is so nice to have outdoor dining in that place or have a cool drink after running. And the kitties! Are they not so adorable? 
> 
> If ever there is something you might find confusing, drop me a message at [Curious Cat](curiouscat.me/karaelayne). ♥


	4. Chapter 4

Youngjae threw in a bag of toiletries inside his travel trolley and zipped it up. He checked the checklist he made of the things he needed to bring, murmuring while reading through the items one by one. Everything had been ticked, so he put the paper inside his sling bag's pocket and proceeded to clean up his room. Jaebeom would have a fit if he left without fixing his things and putting them in place. His brother was a neat freak. Though it was good to have everything in place and the house was so clean even germs would be ashamed to stay any minute inside, sometimes it drove him crazy. His standard of cleanliness and organization was way below his older brother's. He could not help but sometimes think what if he would marry a sloppy person like Yugyeom or Jackson. 

Thinking about Jackson, he laughed to himself imagining Jaebeom being inside Jackson's room. Even Jinyoung, a messy person himself (though he always justified it, "There is order in my chaos, Youngjae-ah."), dreaded to go inside his housemate's unless necessary. His older brother mentioned once that he went to Jinyoung's apartment to take photos, but that's all. Things had been busy for him the past three weeks; he had only seen Jinyoung at least four or five times, and those were like five-minute meetings. He felt bad when he had to turn down his dinner invitation twice because of school. This internship would be the last hurdle; he would make it up to his best friend after all of this was over. He sighed to himself thinking how lonely Jinyoung must be, with him being buried under an avalanche of school stuff and Jackson being away. He knew Jinyoung liked his solitude sometimes and he had other friends too, but it was not the same as feeling at home with them. He decided to text Jinyoung, hoping that his older friend had nothing to do today. He would be leaving very early tomorrow morning, so he wanted to spend some time with his friend before he left. 

> ** _Youngjae_ ** _ : Hi, hyung! What’s up?  _
> 
> ** _Jinyoung:_ ** _ Youngjae-ah! I am okay? What about you?  _
> 
> ** _Youngjae:_ ** _ Finally done with the papers. I just finished packing up my bags for my internship tomorrow. I am leaving very early morning.  _
> 
> ** _Jinyoung:_ ** _ Is that tomorrow already? Whoa! Did you make a checklist?  _
> 
> ** _Youngjae:_ ** _ Yeah, time flies so fast when you are busy. I only have a couple of days rest, then I am off to another place. I did make a checklist. I really need that, considering how forgetful I am.  _
> 
> ** _Jinyoung:_ ** _ I know that very well, that's why I told you. LOL! _
> 
> ** _Youngjae: _ ** _ Where are you, hyung?  _
> 
> ** _Jinyoung;_ ** _ Home. Just done cleaning my room, and I am going to read my book.  _
> 
> ** _Youngjae:_ ** _ Can you meet me at the supermarket, hyung? I need to buy some toiletries. I think we can hang out afterwards. I miss you, hyung!  _
> 
> ** _Jinyoung:_ ** _ I would think you need something from me if we did not really see much of each other lately. Okay, lemme just get dressed and I will see you there. I am sacrificing my reading time for you, so you better buy me coffee later! XD _
> 
> ** _Youngjae:_ ** _ Sure, anything for my favourite hyung, as long as you get me that pastry that we had the last time. Hahahaha!  _
> 
> ** _Jinyoung:_ ** _ I knew there is a catch! Okay, see you! ^^ _

Youngjae was putting in his sneakers when Jaebeom came out of his room and saw him at the main door.

"Where are you going, Youngjae-ah?" 

"I am meeting Jinyoung hyung at the supermarket, hyung. I am picking up a few items and then we are going to hang out before I go tomorrow." He stood up and patted his jeans then putting on his black cap. 

"Right now? Oh, I'll come with you. I have a few things needed, too. Wait for me, I'll be back in a second." Jaebeom put the used glass on the kitchen table and went back to his room to get his wallet and car key. "Let's go!" 

The brothers just entered the supermarket when someone wearing a boat-neck striped shirt was waving at them. Youngjae saw it was Jinyoung and he hurried up to his best friend, his brother following him. Jinyoung was surprised to see Jaebeom, never expecting him to come along. 

"Ah, I was bored waiting for my films to get dry," Jaebeom said, scratching the back of his neck. "Besides, I need to get some household stuff." 

They got themselves a shopping cart, Jaebeom pushing it behind the two friends who were excitedly talking at something they only knew. Youngjae whispered something at Jinyoung then burst out laughing, while the other boy playfully hit the other's arm repeatedly. Jinyoung suddenly looked back and saw Jaebeom looking at them. He swore he did not blush when Jinyoung scrunched his nose and smiled at him. No, he did not even think that those eye whiskers were the most adorable thing on earth. 

They turned to the food section, and Jaebeom took some chips and snacks and put them inside his pushcart. He also got a couple of Tostitos dip before walking over to the two friends who were arguing over some munchies. Jinyoung turned around when he parked his pushcart beside them and glanced at the contents of his. 

"Ooops, I forgot we have a nutritionist here," Jaebeom said. "I might be scolded with the amount of junk food I get." 

"Have you seen how many bags of cheese stick snacks he is holding now, hyung? Five! That's not healthy, too!"

"Because they are my favourite, shut up!" Jinyoung then turned to Jaebeom and said, "I like to dip them in ketchup, hyung. Best. Thing. Ever!" He grinned at Jaebeom, and the other chuckled at Jinyoung's weird food combination. 

"Here, put your precious cheese sticks inside." He made room in his pushcart for Jinyoung's snacks then took the bags from him. "And can you please get two for me? I want to try it with ketchup, too." The look of delight on Jinyoung's face was something Jaebeom wanted to see every day, even if it meant eating cheese sticks often. 

They paid for their purchases, and they went to a fancy pastry near the supermarket. Jinyoung was impressed with the high ceiling, hanging lights, and the overall cosy feel of the place. They secured a table beside the window with a loveseat and a single French bistro chair. Youngjae hurriedly claimed the chair and told his friend to sit together with his brother. He explained that Jaebeom hated sitting beside him unless they had their own seats. The older man replied that it was because Youngjae liked leaning his weight on his, and Jaebeom was not exactly a fan of that. 

A server came and took their order - chicken pies for the best friends and pasta for Jaebeom. While waiting for their food, they talked about how Jinyoung was going to graduate four months from now, Youngjae by next year. Jinyoung said that he might take a month break after graduating to recover from stress, probably going back home to his parents or travel around the country, before looking for a job. 

"Or you should find a boyfriend to keep you company, hyung," Youngjae said, teasing Jinyoung with a wink. "What happened to Minwoo?" 

Jaebeom's ears perked at the mention of a guy's name.  _ Was he Jinyoung's ex? _

"What are you talking about?" Jinyoung retorted. "Do not mention him ever again." He felt Jaebeom's curious eyes on him, so he looked at him and sighed. "He was a suitor. He asked me out on a couple of dates, and I agreed just because, you know, I was being nice and I want to know him, too. But he assumed that since we went out together, we were dating already and told everyone about it. When I denied it, he called me a liar and a cheater and how could I play with his feelings and all that stuff. I never said or implied anything that I liked him back. Anyway, to cut the long story short, Jackson had "threatened" him, and the last thing I know was he took a leave of absence from school this year." He took a bite of his pie. "He was so stressful." 

"Oh, wow," Youngjae replied, '"I did not know Jackson hyung had threatened him. What did he exactly do?" 

"I did not know either. Jacks was stressed because I was stressed so he dealt with the source of stress himself," Jinyoung chuckled softly. "I am just glad he is gone, and this is the last time I am going to talk about it." 

They shifted to fun and interesting topics, mostly about the new friends Jinyoung met at the Im's. Youngjae was frustrated because he could not talk about his games except with Mark, the oldest among the cousins. Jingyoung was surprised to learn that; he thought Mark was the same age as Yugyeom and that Youngjae was just joking when he said that he was a pro gamer. The brothers laughed at Jinyoung's confused look, and Jaebeom said that Yugyeom is the youngest. He was just so tall they thought their auntie fed him string beans all the time. 

Later, Jinyoung asked the server for the bill, which Jaebeom took. He took out his card, but Jinyoung insisted that he would pay since he promised Youngjae for a treat. But Jaebeom would not have any of those, and with finality, closed the bill holder with his card inside. 

"Hyung," Jinyoung whined, "you cannot be paying every time we eat out. It is unfair." 

"Every time you eat out? You went out together?" Youngjae questioned them.

"It was just coffee, Youngjae-ah," Jaebeom replied nonchalantly. "It was when I gave Jinyoung the draft for his apartment renovation. Shall we go now?" 

They drove Jinyoung home. It was a silent drive except for the occasional humming of Youngjae who was sitting at the passenger seat. Jinyoung scrolled down his phone and checking messages. While waiting for the traffic light to turn green, Jinyoung looked up from his phone and saw Jaebeom looking at him through the rearview mirror. He raised his brow as if asking him what or why, and Jaebeom just gave him a small smile in response. Jinyoung stared out of the window until the streets became familiar and the car stopped in front of his apartment building. He thanked Jaebeom for the ride home and wished Youngjae a safe trip the next morning. As soon as he entered his apartment, he received a message from Jaebeom. 

> ** _Im Jaebeom_ ** _ : Jinyoung-ah, remember that I asked you to save a date for me this week?  _
> 
> ** _Park Jinyoung:_ ** _ Yes, hyung. No schedule for me except school. Why? _
> 
> ** _Im Jaebeom:_ ** _ Can we meet tomorrow?  _
> 
> ** _Park Jinyoung:_ ** _ What time? _
> 
> ** _Im Jaebeom:_ ** _ After lunch? I have a few stuff to do in the morning, so I'll pick you up around 2 PM. Is that okay?  _
> 
> ** _Park Jinyoung:_ ** _ It's okay, hyung, I think that's a pretty good time.  _
> 
> ** _Im Jaebeom:_ ** _ Okay, cool. I bring my cameras. See you, Jinyoungie!  _
> 
> ** _Park Jinyoung: _ ** _ Good night, hyung!  _

  
  


*******

Jaebeom was mad. Who would not be when your plans for the day almost got ruined, all because your younger brother failed to wake up on time and missed the bus that would take him to his dorm out of town, and now you had no choice but to drive him all the way there because he could not miss the assembly. He almost broke the rules just to get Youngjae there on time. His brother apologized several times until it annoyed him, causing him to snap at his brother. Now he was driving back to Seoul, a bit calmer now, hoping that he would make it in time to pick up Jinyoung. 

He was thankful that Jinyoung was not waiting for him yet when he arrived at the younger man's apartment building. He sent a message to Jinyoung and checked himself at the dashboard mirror while waiting for him to come down. He ran his fingers through his hair, tucking them behind his ear. Thank God he managed to throw on a decent khaki jacket over his black long sleeve shirt in the midst of panic earlier. Damn Youngjae. 

He heard soft taps on his car window, and he unlocked the door for Jinyoung to get in. Why did he look so good even in just a plain white shirt, cuffed olive chino, and white Converse sneakers? 

"Hi, Jaebeom hyung! You're a few minutes late," Jinyoung teased him while putting on his seat belt. 

"Sorry, Jinyoung-ah, Youngjae woke me up this morning asking me if I could drive him to his internship dorm because he woke up late and missed the bus that would take them there. They had an assembly at 11 AM, and he woke up at 8:30!" Jaebeom let out an exasperated sigh. 

"Oh no! Did you make it?"

"Fortunately for him, yes. Not for me, though. I spent the whole morning driving." 

"I am sorry, hyung," Jinyoung looked at him sadly. "Would you rather cancel this and go home? I would totally understand." 

"No no no no! Sorry, I am venting out on you. I am just annoyed at him for now." Jaebeom glanced at him before he made a right turn out to the highway. "Why don't you check the cameras I bring?" 

Jinyoung grabbed a small black messenger bag at the backseat and took out two cameras. "Oh, they are beautiful, hyung!" 

"The white one was my first digicam. It's a birthday gift from my uncle two years ago, I think. And the other one, that's my favourite film camera. I'll let you borrow the digicam to play with." 

Half an hour later, they arrived at their destination, the Dreamy Camera Cafe. It was a cafe shaped like a camera located outside Seoul. There were no other establishments beside it except the house of the owners, so it stood out against the background of green fields and tall mountains. Jinyoung’s eyes were wide in awe and he could not stop smiling at such a pretty place. Jaebeom took his hand and they walked on the stepping stones that lead to the cafe’s entrance. 

“This is so beautiful, hyung!” Jinyoung looked around as they went to their table. “How did you find this place?”

“I was here a couple of times with friends. There is a big cork board wall at the end of this room where you can pin Polaroids pictures or messages that you want to write them. Let’s check later if mine was still there.” Jaebeom smiled at him. “You can use the digicam to take pictures around.”

While waiting for the drinks to arrive (and a meal for Jaebeom who had not eaten yet), Jaebeom showed Jinyoung how to use the digital camera - how to check the battery, which buttons to press, where the SD card is inserted, how to view the photos, etc. - their heads bent down close to each other. Their food arrived, and they put their cameras aside, savouring their food and enjoying each other's company as well. 

As soon as their table was cleared, the staff gave them instant cameras and colourful pens so they could take photos of their choices and add them to the growing number of little square photos at the cork board. They took selfies, photos of each other, the cute little things inside the cafe. They went outside and took photos of the view, Jinyoung trying out the digicam this time. Jaebeom asked him to make a pose so he could take a photo of him, but Jinyoung was shy and conscious he told his hyung to just take candid photos of him. Instead he offered to take Jaebeom's photo, but then burst out laughing when he made a wacky pose. Jaebeom complained that his photographer took so long to take the shots, so Jinyoung took it, even though his hands and shoulders were shaking from giggling. Other people were looking at Jaebeom, amused at his silliness, but he did not mind. All he cared about was that beautiful person with the beautiful smile in front of him. 

They went back inside the cafe and wrote captions on their photos before pinning them to the wall. Jinyoung chose his selfie and wrote "First time here and it is really a lovely place. Thank you!" Jaebeom selected one of him and Jinyoung together and scribbled "Having a wonderful time with you" on his. He saw Jinyoung looking at the other pictures on the wall, and he stood beside him, draped his arm around Jinyoung's shoulder and asked him to find his previous photos. It took Jinyoung a few minutes before he found one at the uppermost left of the wall, unpinning it so he could take a closer look. He was with a couple of friends, Jaebeom explained, and they were just driving around and they spotted this place. Jinyoung easily found the second one, though; it was only Jaebeom with an open book in his hand and a cup of coffee on the table. Jaebeom pointed to where he pinned his third photo, and Jinyoung gave him a big smile when he read the caption Jaebeom wrote.

After thanking the staff and paying for their bill (Jinyoung insisted he paid this time), Jaebeom took Jinyoung to a spot around the bend from the cafe. They sat on the grass and watched the sunset rolling over the hills below and small villages between them. It was such a picturesque sight, Jinyoung could not help capturing the view before him. Jaebeom was also busy with his own camera, clicking the shutter button every few minutes. 

"Thank you for bringing me here, hyung," Jinyoung said softly, not wanting to disturb the quiet and calm ambience that they had. 

"I am happy you came along with me, Jinyoung-ah, I could not even remember I was so mad earlier." Jaebeom made a soft laugh. 

"It is so beautiful, how did you even find this?" Jinyoung looked around and said, "this is just so stunning. It makes my heart happy." 

"Yes, so beautiful." Jaebeom's eyes were focused on Jinyoung, the fading glow of the sunset hitting his face, making him look ethereal. "So stunning. Makes my heart happy." 

"Hyung, why are you -" Jinyoung's heart suddenly beat fast seeing Jaebeom's soft brown eyes studying him intently. He looked on his lap, feeling his ears grow crimson. Jaebeom moved closer to him, their hips against each other. Jinyoung was still looking down when Jaebeom gently lifted his chin with one finger. He was flushing pink and he was biting his lower lip, still not looking at Jaebeom. 

"Jinyoung-ah, can I…? Can I kiss you?" 

Jinyoung did not answer, but he looked up to look at Jaebeom's eyes, and the answer was there. Slowly, Jaebeom brought his head close, resting his forehead on Jinyoung's. His thumb caressed Jinyoung's lips before he pressed their lips together, softly but firmly. He felt Jinyoung's hand on his nape as they moved their lips together. He wrapped his arms around Jinyoung's waist and pulled him closer to him, lips never parting. Jinyoung's little moans in their kiss were like music to his ears. 

Gently, they parted from each other, studying each other's face. Their eyes sparkled with happiness from what they had just shared. Jinyoung's initial shyness was gone; he cupped Jaebeom's face with both hands and lovingly brushed his thumbs on his cheeks. Words were not needed to convey their emotions at that time. Their eyes and touches were enough to let each other know what they feel. Under a thousand stars, they shared their second kiss that night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am no expert in photography, so please forgive me if there are any mistakes or wrong info in this chapter.


End file.
